End Abuse of Old People - An Appeal (UK)

End abuse of old people

LAST year, 2007, started badly for some older people.

There were reports of an 82-year-old man being evicted from a care home after his family had complaints upheld by the Scottish Care Commission.

A care worker in Cumbria was found guilty of stealing over £400 from residents in another home, and yet another of stealing £1,500 over five years.

A councillor in the Midlands admitted that not all sex abuse cases concerning older people were reported to the police.

There were concerns about the misuse of anti-psychotic drugs to keep people docile and quiet.

And three older people were found dead from neglect, one of whom had a broken leg untreated for five days. And this was just January!

The year continued with research that suggested that more than 342,000 older people were being abused by their families each year, with the register of abusers being deemed by courts to be in part unfair on workers and with the bodies of a number of older people being exhumed for forensic investigations following concerns about how they died.

And, of course, the year ended with the horrific story of 75-year-old Rosemary Pagett, who died 10 days after being sexually abused by 12-year-old schoolboy Luke James Sharp.

There was also a horrendous report by the Commission for Social Care Inspection, which indicated that "levels of restraint are much higher than those recorded by staff in care homes."

The reality is that elder abuse is becoming an accepted fact in today's Britain but it still is not receiving the level of urgency thati t merits.

We have protective systems in place, regulators in place and a developing level of care provision that is becoming more sophisticated.

But as a society we lack the passion and anger about the abuse of our older generations that we display when our children suffer the same experiences. We express outrage today but discuss the weather tomorrow. And yet, sooner or later, it will be our turn.

So, if your readers are considering New Year resolutions, can I beg them to add one that says they will do one thing to end elder abuse?

Whether it is to check on an elderly relative, write to their local councillor or MP to add support to our campaign, challenge the behaviour of an abusive colleague or make a collection for our work, please do that one thing. There's no excuse for elder abuse.

Gary FitzGerald
(Chief executive,
Action on Elder Abuse)

SOURCE: Halifax Courier UK
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